The Government will strengthen the regulatory framework for e-cigarettes and will report to the Legislative Council on the issue within this legislative year.
Secretary for Food & Health Prof Sophia Chan made the statement today, saying evidence collected globally shows e-cigarette smoking is harmful.
Prof Chan said the Government's tobacco control measures and strategies are multipronged, covering not only legislation but also education, taxation and smoking cessation assistance.
"Given the relatively low smoking prevalence in Hong Kong, it is even more important for us to help those who cannot quit or find it very difficult to quit smoking.
"In the past 10 years we have increased tobacco duty and (tried) to make reference to the World Health Organization's recommendation on tobacco duty.
"In the coming years we will be looking into the effectiveness of our multipronged tobacco control measures in order to work on our future strategies.
"There is a need for the Government to strengthen the regulatory framework for e-cigarette(s) in Hong Kong."
